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Multiple regional banks' shares halted
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Big U.S. banks also under pressure
(Updates to market close)
By David Carnevali
NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Sliding bank shared
dragged Wall Street on Monday with investors worried about
contagion from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, but trade was
choppy and some sectors benefited from hopes the Federal Reserve
could ease up on interest rates hikes.
SVB Financial's sudden shutdown on Friday after a
failed capital raise had investors worried about risks to other
banks from the Fed's sharp rate hikes over the last year. But
many speculated the central bank could now become less hawkish,
and the yield on the 2-year Treasury tumbled.
Regulators over the weekend stepped in to restore investor
confidence in the banking system, saying SVB's depositors will
have access to their funds on Monday.
To some investors, the Fed's decision next week will also
hinge on inflation data due this week.
"If we get shockingly bad Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index, the Fed is going to find itself in a tough spot or a much tougher spot that it even finds itself in ahead of those prints," said Orion Advisor Solutions CIO Timothy Holland.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 5.82 points, or 0.16%, to end at 3,855.54 points,
while the Nasdaq Composite gained 49.74 points, or
0.45%, to 11,188.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.66 points, or 0.27%, to 31,822.08.
The benchmark S&P 500 is now up about 1% for the year
so far. Earlier in the session it fell, briefly erasing all the
year-to-date gains.
The CPI data is due on Tuesday and PPI on Wednesday.
The defensive utilities sector was among the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors while interest rate sensitive groups such as real estate and technology also climbed.
"The market is now expecting that the Fed is likely to not raise rates this month and so they may enter a pause period," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. Shares of SVB's peer Signature Bank , which was also shut down by regulators, were halted. Nasdaq said they would remain so until the exchange's request for additional information was "fully satisfied."
President Joe Biden vowed to do whatever was needed to address the threat to the banking system. First Republic Bank fell sharply as news of fresh financing failed to reassure investors, and so did Western Alliance Bancorp and PacWest Bancorp . Trading in the stocks was halted several times. Weighing on the S&P 500, Charles Schwab tumbled upon resuming trade after the financial services company reported a 28% decline in average margin balances and a 4% fall in total client assets for February. Shares of big U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co , Citigroup , and Wells Fargo all lost ground.
The CBOE Volatility Index , known as Wall Street's fear gauge, ticked higher. Traders are now largely pricing in a 25 basis point rate hike from the Fed in March, with bets that the central bank will hold interest rates at their current level standing at 31.4%. Among individual stocks, Pfizer Inc was up after the drugmaker said it would buy Seagen Inc for nearly $43 billion. (Reporting by David Carnevali; Editing by David Gregorio)
